Street-cleaning machine.



f L uw# L STREET-GLEANNG GHHXE 2; concern. eng -1 c l c x n Y;

fuma@ it?. mand-x 1 1:01 con?H n Qectve embodiment of the inventien s@ that ghewsmftmay D@ s? 'ted forwardly 4l@ is wmie in h@ acmmpanyug drawings, or rearwardy as may be ne asary to keep 95 in n."n".,- he Coneve ai m0331211 musloa. fi:- the Figure shows th@ ymachina in vertical $6.11' o' the im 'eeeptaula th@ convejfez' runs langituna seaien. Fig. 2 is a rem View ove@ :L shat Q and a, muet Q9. @ha former 01@ the machina. with-iba et half of the conis provided ai: its ends Wh Spmckets, of

45 vewjl' til-un; remow. Fig. 3 is a sie View, which om, is ncuted at 3G, Fg, eilfgggk 190 1 fer scae nan l, of the rem f ing the sid@ chains 3]. of the` Qmvweye to Qc 1- macV Le. g. 4 '15 a detail drive. ih@ same. The TUHH* sha, Msoas view 0i En@ mechanism 1 driving the a?, nhs eds-= wmg ."Qiockets comme@ Q5 L L'AL r1 i ng m jacent is an prators semi 89 at the rem 1w of the vehicle near the top. Fromthe shaft to a atrthe re'ar edge of the'. rearwardly extend- 28 and roller 29, the conveyor extends down'- wardly and rearwardly and at a point near the ground runs under a pair of shafts 40,

41, provided with suitable 'sprockets cooperating with thel side-chains of the conveyer. ,Thence the conveyer extends in a generally horizontal direction to sprockets on a rear shaft 42 adjacent to the rotary brush 'or broom 43, thus providing a rearwardlyv extending shelf 44 upon whichthe sweepings are thrown by the brush revolving in the direction of the arrow, or counterclockwise as viewed `1n Flgs. 1 and 3. The' portions lof tlie'conveyer which are outside the dirt receptacle or chamber runithrough a trunk 45, having a rearwardly extending horizontal portion 46 in which the shafts 40, 41, 42 are journaled'. The trunk is pivotally mounted at its upper end on the shaft 28, and is suspended by a pair of hangers 47-the lower ends of which are c0n nected -to the shaft 41 .and the upper ends air of strong coil springs 48 attached to chains 49 running over idler pulleys 50,

ing platform or portion of the vehicle .on

ywhich the oper'ators seat 39 and controller 38 are mounted, to, a transverse winding shaft 5l, so that by winding the chains on said shaft the position of the drum and the partait contains can bel adjusted with respect to the ground, or liftedv` entirely awayA from the ground as is desired when the machine is not in operation.v vWhen the machine is in use the trunk is let down until the casters 52 andv rollers 53 just `clearthe street or arel in only light Contact therewith,

leaving, the weight of the trunk and. inte-A rior. parts supported by the springs 48. yThen whenan obstruction is encountered i I .the streetthe'tl'unk will'v ride easily over,

' its upward' movement in'clearing the obstruction bein `Iaided by the springs, as will be readily un erstood. ,The shaft 5l is ro-v tated manuali' by ahand wheel 54 connect-x by ge '55, 56, and is proff` vided with ratchet an k t', awl mechanism' ed to the sha v to' hold the trunk, and lparts supported thereby, in any'desired pagg-,img

Th@ Sheff 58 0f thrbtarr; .rush- ,431s mov.

'able vertically in arcgshaped'fislots 59 in the` sides pf. the trunk and is mounted in the rear ends of a pair of arms 60 which at their forwardrends are pivot'ally' mounted on studs 61 on'ktheoutsideof the trunk. It will thus be seen Vthat'the brush, which, when the-machineis in operation rests by gravity en thd` ground, is free to rise and fall in con- "formitly .to any inequalities that may exist in therstreet. To enable the ends of the brush Eo rise and. fall independently of each other, the better toconform to the surface of the roadway, the bearing 62, in which the shaftA 58 journaled, ,are supported by the l tilts.

the right-hand end of the brush Ais exactly maaien arms 60 by means of collars'encircli'ng the said bearings and secured to the'v arms'.

These collars are 'provided with adjustable pivot screws 68 engaging the .bearings in l front and rear. Thus it the right endot in Fig-4 lthe parts on the left side (as the machine is viewed fromthe rear) are shown in plan. As'there shown, the shaft-.58 is provided v with asprocket 64 driven by a chain 65 running over asprocket 66 rotatably mounted on' a studl. The gear 67,

rigidly'fconnected to the sprocket, 66', -is driven by agea'rj68 rotatably mounted on the shaft -41 and driven by" a'sprocket 69 to which the gear is connected. The sprocket last named is'itself driven by a 4chain 70 -(see Figs. 2; and '3) running over the sprocketl. ',Inasmuehas-the mechanism at like that at the left it is deemedunnecessary to,l show the former., It will therefore be .seen that the swinging of the brush-supporting arms 60 can exert no stress on the driv. ing mechanism, since the arms swing on theaxis of the gears 6 7, and sprockets 66, thereby making nojchange 'in the distance between the sprockets 64.and 66. Further-A more, travel of the brush-drivingchains 65,

lin the dire'ctionof the arrow in Fig. 3, eX-

erts an appreciable downward pressure'on the-brush, resisting the tendency df irregularities in the roadway to raise the brush and thus' aiding gravity in keeping the brush I.

ment; The brush, it will be observed, does not artake of thevertical movement of the always in effective.' contact with the pavetrun as thelatter passes elevations inthe street.l On. the contrary it hugs the pavement close/ly, and is thus enabled to sweep upclose to an elevation while the trunkV .rises to pass the same and is-also enabled'fto' drop into and Vspeed out adepression even though the trunk -does not descend as tliei4 depression is passed.` In'short, the ,brush follows the contour of the pavement whether the same is even or irregulansmooth orA full of. depressions land elevations. As the brush.

exerts considerable pressure on the pavement the bristles composing .the brush might be subjected to excessive leXure,

causing them. to vbe broken or permanently I bent, .or matted together. To prevent such results each end of the brush isprovidedwith a"di`sk72, rotatable on the brush shaft 1'30 infinies 58 inside the trunlor hood enel o Sonie operation the brush may be hung up, out of.

Contact with the ground, by means oi' suitable hooks onthe arms 60. a@ne 01 the hooks is shown at 73 ancl the pin which it engages is shown at 'l' The rapidly revolving brush throws the sW-eepings upwardly and for- Warclly upon the lower horizontei portion of conveyor 44, by Which they are ceiriecl to the receptacle 1G. Some of the sweepings may', however, be vthrown the top of the hood or trunk e6 and, dropping y at once or later, be corrieri backward by the brush and elepositefl on the street 'in the rear. To avoid such occurrence a traveling spetter a'oron '75 is provided, ebore the brush and extending Well orwsrcl over ther er portion of the conveyor, to receive the spot terecl material. The apron moves in the f lirection of the arrow over e pair of rollers T6, Y?, journfll'ecl in the trunk 4, the latter roller being clriven by a sprocket 'l' -over which runs o chain 79 roni a sprocket 8O alongside oi' and xecl to one of the sprockets 67. In rear of the roller TG is a trans Verse scraper 8l engaging the lower reach of the apron, to scrape ofi' materiel lodge' thereon and cause it to clrop upon the conveyer. The rear roller 76, is journalecl in adjustable bearings, es 82, by which t ie tension of the noron may be regulated as desired. Behind the brush is e transverse trough 83 to receive materiel which may be thrown upon ,the rear Wall of the hood by thebrush. lit cleeired the forward edge or the trough may bear against the brush7 to serve as n scraper to relieve the brush of any material that may be clinging to it when such edge is reached.

As previously stote'fl, the brush revolves rapiclhv in comparison with the rete et which the Vehicle travels. both the convey/er and the brush are driven the seine motor, 35, the sprockets 32, "il, 69, 6556i' enel gears 68, 67,by 'which the parts are driven ere so lproportiorneithat the brush Tvill here s high speel and the conyeyer e relatively speed. ln prectice'the' speeal oi brush, regulateel by the controller 238, will depend somewhat upon the character of the` street, Whether mush or little flirt has to be removecl to leere ihe pavement clean, but in generel it is ounrl 'that under ordinary con clit'ions the Work `will be setisfactory ii the brush rnekes about threeI revolutions in moi# ing forward n (list-ence eouel to its circumference. Thus :1 brush fifteen inches in diameter lies n circumference of about fortyeyen inches, enel should inale three revolutions in trewling that distance.

To prevent dust being scattered from nnthe hood 116, as niay happen when sweeping n Very dusty peveinent, means are provided tor creating a strong suction up. 'through the. conreyer trunk eno into a dust separator, so that particles light enough to 1oe-bloifm about by the Wind will be sucked up through the trunk., For this purpose a suitable clust separator is employed, preferably ci the type shown in my prior ?atent No. SQS), lated lecernber S, i908. En the present instance, however, compartment at the Vp the clirt receptacle 1G, and e simple seinen 85 over the forwarci end of the compartment, are shown to inriicete any convenient enel effective separator. the rear enr of the separator is e suction fan 86, driven a niotor recei current 'from the generator il and controlled by starting bei 88 ediacent to the operetoi"s see-.t 39. the fon is run? a strong; suction is prorlnce np thro-agli the trunk 45, through the upper port of the olirt receptacle, anti thence through the separator, in which latter the ilnsolaeien eir is puriiecl by removal of 'the clust before being clischargecl into the etsniospliere by For the purpose of scrubbing or ilushing the payement reservoir for carrying the necessary liquid., usually Watenis proyiecl' on the top of the machine. ln the present instance the reservoir is coniposecl of a. plu rality o' cylindrical tanlisfSQ connecte et the bottom to a bus'pipe 90 from which the liquiclis conveyed by s; supply pipe, 9i. to a. cross pipe 92. Freni the latter the weiter passes through o ptr-ir of side pipes 9B to e5 eleiltending across the path or the' jet pipe machine imnecliately in iront of 4'the trunk i5 and close to the ground. lThe unolersicle of the jet pipe is proviclerl with small discharge apertures, so'thet the Water Willibe fliscliorgecl upon the pavement inine jets.

Although the machine loes satisfactory Worli with the water discharged from the jet pipe by gravity, the best results are obtsineel by discharging the water with great "force, so es 'to exert e powerful penetrating end loosening action on material cel/red or dried on the pavement. For this purpose the "Water in the tenir or resery'oir'is put unrler the pressure of compressed air suo plied by s compressor through pipes 9o, 9T, thernotor $8 which rives the compressor being supplied with current from the` generator ll through start csb 13. this ineens t enter in the res ervoir is 'antler high pressure anni is discharged 'with greet for@ from the jet pipes.

g bof; S-S the f so Being discharged in inejets, however, the I water is not delivered in 'excessive amount, but only sufficient quantity to- Wet the material and render it easily removable from the'.

5 .street by the rapidly revolving.v brush. In fact a. damp alppearance of the pavementin the' rear of the machine is practically the only evidence of thev use of Water, all the scrubbings being taken up. This is true even when the pavement isfull of hollows for depressions, since, as before explained, the brush Works down in such hollows and cleans them as thoroughly 4as 'the level' por-` j tions. To permit raising and lowering of the trunk 45to ,which the side' pipes 93vare attached, the side pipes are provided with iiexible portions 93a at their points or junc-v ture with the crosspipe 92. At these'points valves 100I are'provided, operated by a rod 101 connected to the .valves by means of bevel gears 102 and a transverse shaft 103.

The rod 101 is provided with a handwheel,

.as shown, and is arranged Within easy reach from the operators seat 39. The operator is thus at all times Iable to control thewater supply tosuit the condition of the street -on .which the machine is Working. j

Extending. across the underside Aof the conveyer in the dirtreceptacle is a jetpipe a, directing jets of 'Water against the conveyer for the V,purpose .of Washing from the sameany material that may not have fallen 'off as the belt'rounds the roller 26. The jet pipe 104 is supplied with Water by a trolledby' avalve 106 operated by bevel gears 107 and a rod 108 reaching to the operators seat 39.

|I he opera-tion of the various parts has' beenexplained, but the machine as a Whole is managed `as'olloWs: The driver, in the cab 13, controls only the travel of the vehicle and the running of the' compressor' 95, the street-cleaning .devices being controlled 'by the operator in the rear, occupying the seat 39'. As the machine advances the operator regulates the speed vof the,brushv by.:

means o'f the controller 38, through which the speed of the'driving motor 35 is varied, to suit the condition of the street, a Avery dirty vpavement requiring a higher speed of the ymachine travels a section of pavement may be reached which may make the use of the suction apparatus necessary to prevent dust escaping from .under the hood 46, in/

which case the fan 86 vis started, causing a strong suction up through the" trunk 4 5 and through the dust separator 8%. Instead 'of using suction, .the operator may, particularly if the material to be removed 'from the street adheres at all tenaciously,

open the jet pipe 9 4, so that the pavement will be lushed'- and scrubbed as described above. In so'ihe cases, as for example when reservoir 89 too-rapidly,the use of suction vd ewnvvar'd pressure exerted bythe driving' 'chain 65, they straighten fout with, a-smart f -lip as they escapejrom vcor'itactfw'vitirthe l5 might not be able to reach. `Thus ifa Ihol-` pipe connected tothe pipe 91 and is conveyer, in which casethe rearwardly.I moving` the street-'is so dirty that the amount of-vwatendischarged by the jetpipefis instar. i 1

cient to accomplish the desi-red result, lor when thedischarge of^water in sufficient quantityv would deplete .the supply in the 7 0- through-the trunkl 45'f-may be rescrtedfto at the 1-same"time to' take care of any maf terial that may not be 'Wetenough to cause;i

it to lfollow the conveyer readily. Of cou-rse'1 7 5".

inA cleaning a' Wet .or muddyv pavement neither water norsuction 'is used.- Asthe machine advancesfthe risin 'and' falling brush follows all the irregularities 'of the, vpavement land conforms tothe crown 7 l'i'lt the street.' The .steel lwire bristles'being flexed by the weight of the .brush 'and ithf:

pavement, thus sna ping the dirt '.orward3v upon the horizonta portion 44of`the coni veye'r.y This lexure ot the -bristlesis alsol advantageous in that it enables the brush'. to sweep out vdepressions that `otherwise it low is passed which lies Whollylbetween the ends of the brush the-latten-restingon the higher partsiof ythe pavement, might Asink -only part lway or. not-at allinto the'de- D6 pression, thus leaving 'the-same ullf'ofdirt or only partly cleaned. lBut instead of this rev Y sult happening, the 'flexed bristles straighten out,l reaching down to the bottom of the hol g1 low and sweeping' it out 'as clean fasfthe" higher-portions ofthe pavement, Whenan abrupt elevation is reached the'spring-sup-"y brush rises on the arms'60. .If the' street is excessively dirty or muddy the drivermay reduce'the speed of the ma'chinestravel or the operator' speed up the `brush, orjboth.

As thedirt accumulates inthe receptacle 16 it may pile up until itreafches the con-V bars on Vthe under reach of. the conveyer'con? stantly scrape off the' top ofthe' pile toward ther'ear, thus serving-.not onLy),to carry-the I y diz-tto the receptacle but -al totrim. the load and insuring thatall tli e space/1I 1 the wardly by the brush, ofatravelng above the brush and the adjacent portion of they conveyer to receive dirt thrown upwardly by the brush, and means adjacent to the apronv above said portion of the conveyer to dislodge from the apron material adhering thereto.

2. In a street cleaning machine, the combination with a vehicle having a. dirt receptacle, a eonveyer for carrying dirt thereto, and a rotary brush vadjacent to the conveyer to operate on the pavement, the conveyer being arranged to receive dirt thrown forwardly by the brush, of a trunk inclosing the conveyer and the brush, a traveling apron inside the trunk and above the brush and the adjacent port'ionof the conveyer, and means adjacent to the apron above the said portion of the lconveyer to dislodge from the apron material adhering thereto.

3. ln a street cleaning machine, the combination with a vehicle having a` dirt receptacle and a rearwardly extending portion, of a trunk extending downward from said receptacle toward the ground and having its upper end pivotally mounted, a conveyer traveling through and supported by the, trunli to carry dirt to said receptacle, arotary brush mounted in thelower portion of the trunk, and yielding means suspending the lower end of the trunk and conveyor from said rearwardly extending portion of the vehicle, comprisingr vertical hangers pivotally connected to the lower portion of the trunk, springs connected with the hangers, and flexible devices connecting the springs with the said rearwardly'extending portion.

l. In a street cleaning machine, the combination With a rotary brush, of a traveling `apron above the brush to receive dirt thrown upwardly therefrom, means coperating with the apron to dislodge dirt therefrom, and means to receive the dislodged material.

5. In a street cleaning machine, the combination With a rotary brush, and a convcyer adjacent to the brush, of a traveling apron above the brush and' the conveyor to receive dirt thrownnupwardly by the brush, and means coperating with the apron above the conveyer to dislodge material from the apron and cause the same to fall upon the convejfen 6. ln a street cleaning machine, the combination of a rotary brush, and a 'downwardly open hood over the brush, of a traveling apron within the hood and above the brushto receive dirt thrown n-nw'nwlliv by the brush, means for dislodging from the 1 apron material adhering thereto, and means 6o in rear of the brush inside the hood to re-' ceive material thrown backvvardly bythe brush. Y

7( In a street cleaning machinathe combination of a rotary brush, anda conveyer'e having a portion extending' approximatelyv Y horizontally into juxtapositio *tothe brush,4 of a traveling apron' above Vhe brush and. the said horizontal portion of the conveyer'-, v y and a scraper'engaging. the apron at a point To over the said horizontal. portion of the conveyer.

8. ln al street cleaning machine, the combination of a supporting structure, a pair of rearwardly extending arms pivoted at"0ne 7,5 end to said structure to swing vertically, a' rotary brush extending transversely be tween the free ends of the arms arffd having a shaft, bearings for the ends of the shaft, 1 supporting members for the bearings, said'ef)v members connected to the arms 'and encircling the bearings, and pivots mounted in the members in front and rear of the bearings and engaging the said* bearings in front and rear, to permit either end of the brush to rise and fall independently of the other. l, i

f). ln a street cleaningmahine', the combination of a siipportingrtructure, a pair oi rearwardly extending @rms pivoted at one 9o end to the supporting structure, a rotary,l brush extending transversely between VVV,the free ends of the brush and having a shaft, bearings for the shaft,.supporting menibers carried by thefree ends of'the'arms 95 and extending in front and' rear of said bearings, and pivots mounted in the said members and engaging said bearings in front and rear. whereby either end of the. brush may rise andv fall independently oci the other. Y

l0. ln a street cleaning machine, in combination, arotary brush having resilient bristles,""snpporting devices for the brush'y permitting the brush to move up and down 10.5 and bear on'the pavement, and disks at theends of the brush,jcoaxial therewith and' rotatable independently thereof. i

ln testimony whereof l aiiix my signature in the presence of 'two subscribing, .Wit-

nesses.

ALFRED s. EMERSON; 

